All posts tagged local entrepreneurs

“My sense of your visits was that they were divinely appointed, though initially I didn’t know why. From my perspective you were part of an answer to prayer about going global.” From one of my new friends in Zimbabwe in this morning’s email.

Mark is an entrepreneur that I visited a couple times. We have spent formal and informal time together discussing his business and dreams. Mark is launching his business at great personal cost and with significant risks. He could loose everything! However, he remains good-natured and generous. He trusts God, loves people, and desires to be part of a rebounding Zimbabwean economy. He is not looking for a handout. All he wants is a fair shake. Often it seems that all circumstances are stacked against his success. So, when someone comes along who is on his side he embraces that person and soaks up all the encouragement, knowledge, and wisdom available.

Like Mark, initially I was unsure how I could help him. I don’t have any personal experience in his industry and I certainly don’t have any inside knowledge about the direction of the Zimbabwean government. I do have management experience, so I helped him with some organizational structure and human resource issues. Nevertheless, it was not immediately obvious how my time with his organization was worth me traveling all the way there.

We have continued to communicate since I returned home and it is evident that my greatest contribution is encouragement. Mark needs someone credible to believe in him. Even with my lack of experience in his industry, I have been able to encourage him to make some organizational changes and to dream bigger. He had hit a bit of a wall, but now he is moving forward again.

Even if I play only a small part in the success of Mark’s business, my investment will have been worth it. Mark’s success will enable a growing number of Zimbabwean breadwinners to feed their families, which will encourage Zimbabwean agriculture, which will ripple through the entire economy. Of course, many small businesses like Mark’s must succeed for there to be a large-scale economic renewal. Mark is a start.

This morning I read a starting statistic that provides insight into why all the money and effort to rebuild Haiti have not resulted in more progress. Why have billions of dollars not accomplished more? Maybe it is because the people who are deciding how to spend the money are not the people who really know what is best for the country and its communities.

According to the U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti, only 0.4 percent of international aid has gone directly to Haitian nonprofits. Less than 1/2 of one percent of the billions of dollars invested in Haiti have gone to help local leaders who are taking risks and working strategies to bring real change in their communities. In their defense, the large aid agencies who are handling most of this money are concerned with corruption, inadequate accountability structures, and other issues. However, since their current approach is not working, maybe it is time to try something else.

What if more investment is made to equip and empower local entrepreneurs? According to Sandra Macías del Villar, [these risk takers] often take bold, innovative approaches despite constantly striving against a system that rarely supports them and deprives them of a voice that begs to be heard. Where Has All the Haiti Money Gone?

del Villar goes on to say, “Although the country has a population of just under 10 million, it has more than 3,000 nongovernmental organizations operating independently. The majority are foreign entities or are led by foreigners who lack the local knowledge and have their own agenda. While the presence of international aid groups is important, recovery and renewal support for any country should be funneled directly at the grass-roots level.”

Real positive change will come when creative local leaders make it happen. Let’s help them do it well. Anda